Trawler hijacked, captain murdered

Trawler hijacked, captain murdered

JAKARTA (JP): After floating for two days without clear
direction, a plundered trawler was finally guided into Sunda
Kelapa Port in North Jakarta on Thursday morning, with the dead
captain found frozen.

The bloodied body of the 50-year-old fishing trawler captain,
Talima Manau, was found lying in the freezer of the trawler, KM
Sumber Rejeki, according to Sunda Kelapa Police subprecinct chief
Comr. Arbain.

"Sunda Kelapa Police were shocked when we received reports
from seaport officers that the trawler captain was found dead on
the trawler... and that the captain had been shot to death,"
Arbain said.

He added that eight other crew members of the fishing ship
were saved, but some of them sustained minor injuries.

The trawler arrived at Sunda Kelapa Port at about 9:15 a.m.
The marine vessel was guided in by another ship that found the
floating trawler adrift on the Java Sea.

Arbain added that Talima was reportedly killed during an armed
robbery while the fishing vessel was catching fish in waters off
South Sumatra.

"The crew had caught enough fish and were heading for Lampung
to sell their catch. Suddenly, at about 2 a.m. on Tuesday, 10
men, who had reportedly arrived in a motorboat, took over the KM
Sumber Rezeki by surprise in Sumatran waters," Arbain said.

Sobat Harid, a crew member, said Talima had tried to defend
his crew members and fight off the pirates but they were very
professional and easily overpowered him.

"We did not dare to fight the pirates. They were all carrying
guns and other sharp weapons. They slashed Talima with a machete
before shooting him and dumping his body in the trawler's
freezer. Talima did not die immediately," Sobat told The Jakarta
Post at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital morgue.

Sobat made the statements before he took Talima's body home to
his distraught family in Penjaringan, North Jakarta.

Talima's wife, Sri, who was present at the morgue, failed to
answer any questions, as she was continuously crying.

She just managed to say that Talima had left behind three
children, who were all still at school.

Sobat said that the pirates stripped the ship of its
navigation equipment including a compass, communication
equipment, the catch, and Rp 400,000 (US$36).

"They then left us, and escaped in a motorboat," Sobat said.

Comr. Arbain added that without a compass and radio equipment
to communicate with any seaport official, the trawler's crew
members were lost.

"The trawler had been floating in Sumatran waters for about
two days," Arbain said.

Sobat said that the trawler, which could accommodate a catch
of up to 60 tons, was finally helped and steered by another ship,
to Sunda Kelapa Port in North Jakarta.
(ylt/01)